Results for "microsoft patent"

The life of the Microsoft Courier over the last few months has been one for the script of a soap opera. From seeing video of what the Courier concept would be, to its terrible cancellation, to some software confusion, the Courier has lived and died in such a roller-coaster fashion that it could be tough for anyone to keep up with. Even when Microsoft execs were being shuffled around (supposedly due to the Courier's axing), the Courier was always the main focus. And today, based on a patent months old, we're reminded all over again about what could have been.

The ability to tag songs for a later purchase is one of the easiest, and most convenient ways to shop for songs that you may not have immediate access to. After all, the radio is still an avenue to learn about your favorite band's latest release, or to find new music in general. Microsoft has been tagging songs since late 2008, but it's a pretty big feature in the Zune HD's
catalogue.

With several Windows Mobile devices named in Apple's patent suit against HTC, you'd be forgiven for expecting Microsoft to have a few words of quiet support for their hardware partners. However it seems Microsoft are quite looking forward to a general battle; speaking at an IP convention last week, Brad Smith, the company's general counsel and senior vice president told amassed lawyers that "the fact that there's litigation in this area is not necessarily a bad thing."

Apple, Microsoft, Bang & Olufsen and iriver are among the defendants named by Tsera LLC, a company claiming to own a touchpad patent which has been vigorously infringed. The lawsuit concerns Tsera's patent "Methods and apparatus for controlling a portable electronic device using a touchpad", and basically describes recognizing different touchpad swipes without requiring visual feedback.

Microsoft's pay-per-use computing patent application, uncovered at the end of December, has been rejected by the US Patent & Trademark Office. The application - which described a system whereby users would receive a high-power PC and be able to select multiple levels of performance, with costs varying according to use - was criticised as being unclear and "fuzzy" in places, with the USPTO feeling that much of what Microsoft was claiming had already been patented.

Achieving the balance between flexibility and ease of use isn't straightforward, as Microsoft have found with their Windows Mobile OS. Yes, there's bags of functionality and a whole army of developers creating add-ons, but the result can be intimidating and actually make completing simple tasks harder. The company appears to be going more context-specific with their latest patent, for the Veda "Multi-mode multimedia device and computing system" that plays the part of cellphone, PMP and mini-notebook.

While Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphone are often seen as one of the flagship Android devices, the manufacturer's default apps that come with the TouchWiz interface leave a lot to be desired. Mostly the ability to delete them. The apps do little more than take up storage space and slow the operating system down; in other words, bloatware. However, that trend may finally change with the S6, as an insider report from SamMobile is saying Samsung will drop its own apps in favor of shipping the smartphone with Microsoft offerings.

Microsoft and Samsung's very public tiff over patent royalty late fee payments has come to a private end, with both companies making a brief announcement today about a new agreement between them. Says both companies, "Samsung and Microsoft are pleased to announce that they have ended their contract dispute in U.S. court as well as the ICC arbitration." They go on to says that the terms under which this agreement was struck are confidential, and leave the rest of the details in the dark.

Rockstar, the patent trolling firm formed by Apple, Sony, Microsoft and others, is dissolving as we know it. The company, which was formed after the member companies joined forces to purchase over 6,000 patents being sold by Nortel Networks during their bankruptcy, has sold 4,000 of those patents to patent firm RPX for a reported $900 million. The remaining 2,000 patents were distributed to the companies involved with Rockstar, and are not subject to this sale. Rockstar is also ending all current litigation to quickly close the deal.

It seems that either Google or Rockstar (the industry consortium, not the game developers) has decided to throw in the towel. Details are still unclear on who called it quits first, but the fact of the matter is that, at least in the patent case filed in Texas, Google and Rockstar have reached an agreement to settle "all matters of controversy". It is highly likely that a large amount of money will also be involved. But what's even less clear is how it will affect Android, who is at the heart of the litigation.